Riot
by 3am-updates
Summary: They hurt him, once, twice, too many times to count. It didn't matter. He was a winter sprite, worthless and unwanted. It was fine. He was fine. Until he learned that this had been going on for far to long, for far to many. Then he decides to change it. Or, the one where Jack gets pissed that Winter Spirits are treated as bad as they are, and starts a riot.
1. Prologue

_Run._

_It's all he knows, all he can think._

_Run._

_Just a little farther._

_Run._

_Come on, come on, com-_

_"FROST!"_

_Run._

_Get away, run away._

_Run._

_"GET BACK HERE, FREAK!"_

_Run faster._

_Run. Run. Don't let them catch you._

_"FROST, I SWEAR-"_

_Drown it out. Listen to the pounding of your heart. Don't pay attention to them._

_Run._

_Run._

_Run._

_Ru-_

_It's not enough. They catch him._

_Trapped._

_Vines twisting, wrapping, turning, trapping, caging. Fire, burning, burning, ITS TO HOT, its burning him, burning his core, his blood, it's in his veins._

_Sharp. Its cutting him, and he can't bleed, his blood is frozen._

_Death. It smells like decay, and death, and it's horrible. There's a aura around him, and it's so dead, so blank, and he can't stand it anymore._

_Sweet. There are flowers. Sickly sweet flowers, bittersweet, poisonous. They're deceptive, too calm in the midst of chaos. They're tricking him, he knows it. He's dizzy. The flowers start blurring, then spinning, then all he can see is the pink of the petals._

_There is ice. He knows. He can faintly feel his powers, acting up in an effort to protect him. Him and his fragile body, so susceptible to the heat and the blades that the others carry. All he gets is more burns, more cuts, more harsh words sneered his way._

_He still can't see anything. He can't hear anything but their voices, his own pounding heart. All he can feel is pain. Something is shoved into his mouth, and then all he can taste is bitter plant. Everything smells of death._

_Crack._

_Crack._

_Crack._

_Wood splinters, and his bones break along with it. His ice is now turned against him, trapped without an outlet, begging for release._

_He can't let the ice free._

_He won't let the ice free._

_They laugh. He used to love the sound of laughter, once upon a time. Now it's all he can hear, and he hates it. It's to cruel, to cold, to wrong. It hurts more than the burns and the cuts littering his body._

_"Look… it… all tired….poor….ha...freak...deserved it."_

_"Just like… the brats."_

_The feeling of dread builds up bigger in his gut. Brats. Who was that? It could have been anybody, but...they wouldn't._

_He hears himself speak from a distance, seemingly detached from his body. "Br-br-bra-brats?" His throat gives out and he can barely finish the question._

_"Yea, Freak. Your little Match friends. Worthless, just like you."_

_The Little Match Girls._

_They didn't._

_But they did._

_He can't hold back his ice anymore._

_The storm rages for days. When he can finally see past the white, there is only red. Blood soaked snow. Corpses. He can't bring himself to care, even as the bodies rise, heal, and then run. All he can think about is the Little Match Girls._

_He didn't know how badly they were hurt. They could be dead. And it would be his fault._

_He pulls himself up, forces his staff together with eternal ice, and vows not to let it happen again._


	2. Chapter 1

_sCReeeeEchhh._

Red x. Scribble. Circle. Arrow.

Crumpled papers litter the floor like flowers in a field, a blur of paper, ink, and markings. There's printed out sheets of weather patterns for the past twenty years, predictions, maps and circles and arrows and handwritten notes.

Erase that. Change that. Write that down.

He's almost done. He just needed to make an outline for the others. They wouldn't agree if there wasn't a plan. He has a step-by-step outline for them, but he's afraid it won't be enough.

They were afraid, understandably. The other courts would have more power than them combined. They had been hurt, had become paranoid. Jokul had warned him. If anything were to go wrong, things would just get worse. But he was rallying them. He had to.

They were so reluctant. Things needed to change, but no one was willing to change them.

If he could only start it, they would be-

His thoughts are interrupted by the door swinging open and North's booming laughter. He scrambles to shove the papers into an old messenger bag he had stolen from Hermes (and he claimed to be the god of thieves.) He's not quick enough though, because the others see him.

Tooth flits over, looking down at some of the papers left. He's immensely grateful that they are just weather patterns. Easy to explain, considering his nature. "What are those, Jack?"

Jack pulls on an easy smile, grinning up at her and lounging on the chair. "Just some weather patterns. Trying to figure out how I can mess them up without destroying the world."

"Yea, right," Bunny scoffs. "Aren't you not allowed to mess with Mother Nature's plans?"

Yes. He's completely disobeying the rules. It's for a good cause. "Nah. She doesn't really pay attention to us, so we can pretty much do whatever we want, as long as we don't run into the others." He realizes his mistake a second too late to keep himself from pronouncing the words.

"Us?" Tooth asks, at the same time North questions "Others?"

Shit. Why did he think it was a good idea to work at the Pole?

"Umm...yea." He swallows thickly. "Us as in the other winter sprites. And others as in the, uh, the other seasonals."

"I didn't know you were friends with the other seasonals…" Bunny regards him curiously.

_Little frost, no friends left to help you now…_

"We're no- I mean I- Um-There's… there's a lot about them- I mean me- that you don't, uh, know." Jack's voice is to tight, to clipped, even to him.

Sandy floats up in front of him, showing his surprise in the form of rapid-fire sand images. He waves a sand flag when Jack turns his head away, shoving the remaining papers into his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. He refuses to look at the others.

"Anyways," He said, pulling up his hood and floating a bit. "Uh, it's time for the meeting, right?"

The meeting is over quickly.

He begins feeling a little bad when the other Guardians don't meet his eye. Worse when the meeting is cut short and they are all invited to stay after and he leaves anyways.

They just go through the motions. Yea, they're a little shocked. They'll get over it. This is more important. They'll understand soon enough anyway.

But when he goes to leave, Bunny catches his wrist and pulls him back from the window, despite his protests. "Alright, your gonna tell us what's going on, Frostbite."

_Aw, poor little sprite… don't you know all you bring is frostbite?_

Jack tries to tug his arm away, but Bunny's grip is tight, and his staff is being taken away from him. "Hey! Let me go!"

_We won't let you go this time, Frost. But don't worry, we'll take good care of you. We might even have some fun..._

"Nah, mate, your gonna tell us what's going on, cause there's obviously something wrong."

"Give me my staff!"

_What's up with that, anyway? Why's this stick so important to you, Frost? Maybe we should take it away… After all, only good boys deserve toys._

"Frostbite, just tell us what's going on."

He doesn't respond, still struggling to get away. He doesn't like being trapped, and this is entirely to much like previous experiences. He faintly hears Tooth's scolding tone, but he can't tell who it's directed towards. Distantly, he hears his breathing speed up, his movements growing more panicked, his frantic voice.

_None of it mattered. They still came, no one to hear him or see his panic. He didn't matter._

Logically, he knows that there isn't any problem. These were the Guardians, not… They weren't going to hurt him. Intentionally, at least.

_They wouldn't hurt him, right? He was a seasonal, like them. He was just doing his job. _

He can barely feel himself being let go (the unpleasant warmth lingers on his wrist, over old scars) and being gently guided away somewhere. He feels the soft fabric of a chair giving under his little weight, a whisper of hands on his shoulders. He just needs to breathe, focus on brea-

_Can you breath, frost? Where are your powers now? Why can't you freeze a little water? Jack Frost couldn't possibly be afraid of the very element he controls, right, freak? Isn't that right?_

_Frost? Afraid of drowning? I almost can't believe it. _

_Poor frost, you can't breathe, can you? Go ahead, freak. Take a big, deep breath. Breathe in your own element. Be scared of it. _

_Drown, frost._

Slowly, slowly, every so slowly, he is brought back to the waking world. Colors blur back into shapes, then faces. His breathing is still rapid, his heartbeat calming to slowly to notice.

He's sitting on one of the big, plush chairs that North seems to have everywhere. Tooth flies backwards from him as his eyes become focused, worry clear in all of their eyes. Sandy holds his staff, and he launches himself towards it, before North moves and blocks his way.

He doesn't exactly know what's happening. He probably had a flashback, he reasons. So he focuses on calming himself, calming down. Jack carefully sits back down, but he can't tear his eyes away from his staff.

There is the silence that he hates so much, all the Guardians unsure of what to say. So he breaks it, if only to hear something. "Can I have my staff, please?" The please is tacked on and stressed.

"Are you going to run away?"

"Bunny!" Tooth scolds him.

Bunny ignores her. "Well, are you?"

Jack glances around the room. The windows are closed, and yetis are oh-so-conveniently placed in front of the door. Great.

"No." He lies.

Sandy grins and floats towards him, putting forth one end of his staff like a peace offering. He nearly snatches it up, frost immediately spreading between the cracks of the wood. Ice cracks up it, and he jumps out of his chair, aiming for a side door left unattended. North catches him and slowly lowers him back into the chair, making him have to look up to see them.

"It was worth a try." He says towards Bunny.

They ignore Bunny's protests as Sandy floats forward, flashing question marks, snowflakes, staffs, and frowning faces.

"It was just a small flashback...No big deal. Don't you guys have work to do?"

"That wasn't nothing, Frostbite."

He flinches at the name. _That's all you do, bring frostbite and sickness and death. No wonder no one likes you._

"Yea, it was. Don't worry about it. It happens every twenty or so years. I think they're memories from like, I dunno, a past life or something. " The lies fell of his lips too easily.

"And let's say we believe that. What's in the bag, then?"

_No one believes you, do they Jack? And no one will, ever, because you. are. not. worth. it! You'll stay invisible, like you deserve._

He curses the others in his mind for letting Bunny take the lead. "Nothing important. It's just some work!"

"Then you won't mind me taking a look." Bunny says, and Jack realizes that he has the messenger bag in one paw and starting to open it.

Why wasn't anyone interfering?

"No, don't!" He starts trying to get the bag back, but Bunny holds it above his head, and there is no wind to lift him inside.

"Hey! Give it back, Bunny! That's mine!" Why isn't anyone taking his side on this?

He jumps up and tries to grab the bag as Bunny opens it more, pulling out a few papers.

Why were all the windows closed again?

He wacks Bunny on the head with his staff, but it doesn't deter him from reading the papers.

"Step One," he reads, and Jack goes stiff. "Gather spirits. Step Two, show research, Step Three, rally…"

He keeps getting slower and slower with his reading as they get more confused and Jack feels more dread building up in the pit of his stomach.

"Jack," North says slowly, speaking for the first time. "What is dis?"

Ok, sure, now North speaks up. Great timing.

He stays silent for a moment, weakly glaring at the others. "It's my work. My plans for the next few winters."

"Yea, because redirecting all storms to Antarctica is preparing for winter."

"Uh, it, umm, there's been to many storms! We need a reset in the balance!"

"Liar."

Sandy tugs on his sleeve, but Jack ignores him in favor of jumping to get his papers back. Tooth flies up towards Bunny grabbing a paper and reading it for herself. North moves to lock the door. Bunny glances up at him, reading the paper. "You got a plan here, and it doesn't look like something Mother Nature would approve of. What's going on?"

He finally gets his papers back, shoving them in his hoodie pocket after grabbing them from the others. He tugs his bag away from Bunny, slinging it over his shoulder and bolting for the door. It's still locked, and he groans in annoyance before slowly turning around to face the others. "Umm. Can I have a key, please?"

"Jack."

"Fine! It's plans for a personal project of mine!"

"Jack. Why is the such a big deal?"

"Ughhhhhhhhhh," he sits on the floor, setting his staff across his laugh, scowling at the spirits before him. "I guess you were going to find out anyway."

"Find out what?"

"How am I gonna… You know what, it's easier to just show you." He glares at their curious stares and groans again. Why did he think it would be a good idea to work at the Pole? He should have known it was a bad idea. Arggggh.

Stupid spirits, messing in business that wasn't theirs.

He gets up, searching in his pocket for the little glass sphere. He takes it, pointedly ignoring the others, frosting the thin glass over and singing the hymn under his breath. Jack carefully sets the sphere down, before smashing it with the end of his staff. The glass dissolves, releasing dirty blue smoke, swirling and twisting in a spiral. The process takes him ten minutes, and he ignores the others when the ask him questions. When it's done, he is tempted to go through and close it behind him, effectively escaping, but he feels guilty at Sandy's curious expression.

He ushers the others in, telling them to just trust him. He walks into the portal himself, muttering about how the others are going to hate this.


	3. Chapter 3

**Reviews: **

**Demi clayton: I'm glad you like it! Thank you for reviewing!**

The guardians are covered in frost and shivering when they emerge. Jack is already drifting through the hall, stopping at a corner to wait for them. He wordlessly offers them bits of food, pulled from the seemingly never-ending depths of his pocket.

"Go on, eat." He grumbled, turning away from them and pouting. "So you don't freeze."

"What is it?" Tooth is the one to ask the question, and Jack lets out an exaggerated sigh, turning back at them.

"It's magic. Makes you temporarily immune to the cold, so you don't, y'know, die." Then, as an afterthought "Don't eat anything else here. Even if it looks like it's coming from me."

"Where exactly are we?" "What is this place?"

Jack keeps walking, going through a maze of corridors with ease while the others are hopelessly lost. He ignores them for a few minutes, tapping seemingly random spots on the wall. There's silence for a few moments, all of them to awkward and unsure to break it. Sandy finally floats in front of Jack, sand forming multiple questions marks over his head.

"We're at the Winter Court. Don't touch anything and don't talk to anyone unless I say it's okay."

The guardians freeze in place, shocked. "The Winter Court? As in, THE Winter Court?"

Jack gives them an unimpressed look, tapping another place on the wall to reveal a new corridor. "There's only one Winter Court on this planet, Bunny."

"Yea, but… But it's full of dangerous spirits, Jack! And-"  
Jack cuts him off, scowling at him and eyes flashing. "And what gives you the right to say that?"

"Sweet Tooth," Tooth approaches him cautiously, noting the harsh tone in his stance. "What Bunny means is that… the Winter Court doesn't have the best reputation. It's members are… violent and-"

"Full offense meant, Tooth, but I know more about the Winter Court than all of you combined."

"How do you know Winter Court, Jack? Is very solitary, no?"

"There's a reason for that, North. But yes, I do know the Court. In fact, I'm good friends with some of the members."

Sandy floats up, finally grabbing Jack's attention. He makes a symbol of multiple snowflakes, and Jack's staff going in the middle of them. Next is a happy face, and a question mark.

"How did I meet them?" Sandy nods, motioning for Jack to go on.

"And… if I'm happy with them?" Sandy nods again, and Jack fist pumps at guessing correctly. "I met them a few decades back, maybe… ninety years ago? I had just… run into some of the other seasonals. The heat sort of… made me tired. One of them was passing bye, and uhh… sort of helped me… I guess? And I definitely trust them. They've helped me a lot, over the years. Don't judge them too harshly until you meet them, please? And for the gods, please don't insult them."

"But-but! The Winter Court is harsh, cruel, and-"

Jack's eyes flash dangerously, fading to a darker blue, not unlike thin ice. His staff stops tapping the walls, going in front of him almost defensively. "And who the fuck told you that, huh?"

Tooth gasps, annoyingly shocked at the curse. She goes to protest, but Sandy stops her. He shakes his head and puts a finger to his lips. Jack continues, the dark tone never leaving his eyes.

"I'll tell you who, the Summer _sprites!_" The word 'sprites' is spat out like a vile curse, disgust filling Jack's face. The guardians are almost shocked, but Jack ignores them and keep going. "The very same sprites who beat us, keep us from doing our jobs! Who tell us that we're worthless, who fucking! kill! our! family!"

Jack seems to realize what he's doing, collecting himself and wiping away a tear before it freezes on his face. He grits his teeth, consciously pulling his staff back from in front of him. He looks down, not meeting their eyes.  
"Jack?"

…

"Why… When did this happen?"

Jack sighs, pulling up his hood and flying up to sit on an ice support. He hunches in on himself and speaks quietly, to soft for them to hear easily.

"It… it was a couple of years after I woke up. I stayed too long where… where I wasn't wanted. I didn't… didn't know _anything _then, I just… went where Wind told me. And, I guess, I stayed too far into Spr-spring. I guess that's when, I mean, that was when I met Rain."

No one interrupts him, not to ask for more, so he gives as little information as possible. "Rain… he wasn't happy with me. And I was just- just stupid, and naive. I didn't know better. Rain must have told some of the others, because later, some- some spirits ganged up on me.

"That was the first time… I guess it just became routine. It was something I just- I just- I dunno, I just dealt with it. I was fine, I mean, I had a couple of friends, I guess. Some of the other Winter spirits, some of the fae, some of the others with bad reputations."

"What did they do?"

"Nothing much! Just, uh, a few cuts here and there. Just a couple of harsh words. Wasn't that bad, I swear!" Jack fiddles with the sleeves of his hoodie, tugging them down before he realizes what he was doing. The others don't believe him, because it's obviously hard for him to talk about this, but they let him continue.

"It was fine, really. I just… I didn't realize it wasn't just me. Some of the other from Winter, some of the 'darker' spirits. It was-well, I guess it was a punishment. Winter is death, and sickness, so it's not really regarded kindly. We aren't treated very well." He clears his throat, trying to get more comfortable. "One time, they mentioned something they did to The Little Match Girls. We're all umm, very protective of them. They're not the strongest, and they get picked on a lot."

He jumps down, sitting on the floor. The guardians don't say anything, can't think of anything to say. "I… I snapped. Just… The Little Match Girls… they're so innocent, basically children still, no matter how long they've been around. And they never bother anyone, either! Just… I got mad, and I couldn't control my powers."

Finally, he stuffs his hands in his pockets, the next words coming out as a whisper. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, mate." They're all unsure of what to say, still, but Bunny speaks up, blunt as always. "It's not your fault."

Jack looks up at him, and they decidedly don't comment on the tears in his eyes. "I'm trying to change it. I just need time."

North goes forward, offering a hand to help Jack up. "How are you going to that?"

"I'm going-I'm going to start a riot." The next words are tentative, questioning. "Will you help?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Lord Frost is here!"

The only thing that saves the guardians from a wave of small ice spirits running towards them is Jack catching most of them in his arms as they jump up on him. They're small enough that he's not completely overwhelmed, only about a foot tall each, but there's enough of them that Jack is still knocked down.

"Hey, guys! How have you- hey that tickles! been?" Jack smiles at them, carefully sitting up and moving some of the spirits off of him. Then, almost as if it's an afterthought, "I thought I told you not to call me Lord!"

The spirits giggle, settling down to rest on or near Jack. One of them speaks up from their place on his head. "We are doing good! There hasn't been an attack in ages!"

Jack's face flashes momentarily, before settling back into an easy grin. "That's great! How are Neve, Lumi, and Noelle doing?"

The spirits grow more excited, starting to jump around a bit. "Noelle woke up for a bit yesterday! And Lumi stopped having nightmares with Pitch's help!"

The guardians jump at the mention of Pitch, starting to speak before Jack elbows them. The spirits are oblivious to the suddenly tense air, laughing and tugging at Jack's clothes and hair.

"Who're they?" one asks, pointing towards the guardians. "They don't look of winter."

"That's because they're not, Aspen. They're my friends. I brought them here to help us." Jack smiles at them, carefully setting the ones perched on him down. "Why don't you guys go play with Boreas. He's always to grumpy, maybe you can cheer him up?"

They get excited, jumping up and down. "Yes, that's a great idea!" "Uncle is always to sad and grumpy!" "We have to cheer him up!"

"Have fun!" Jack calls after them, waiting until they disappear around a corner to turn back towards the guardians. "Pitch is a guest here, as are you. Discussion closed. There will be no conflict, understand?"

"But-" Bunny starts, only to be interrupted.

"No buts. He is here because he is willing to help and has agreed to a specific set of rules. Everything has been taken care of. I don't care what sort of history you have with him, you are all guests here, all welcome here, and you will follow the rules set." He takes a deep breath. "Now, I think it's time to introduce you to the court."

Tooth falters. "The Winter Court? Is that a good idea?"

"You wanted to help, right? This is how you help. But aside the stereotypes and cliches, forget the rumors. This is the best way to have you help us."

"Us includes… who exactly?"

"The winter spirits. The dark ones. The reapers. The spirits that have been disgraced, cast out."

Sandy flashes pictures, a question mark and a outline of a goal.

"We're trying to solve a problem here, but it's a big problem, and we're running out of ideas. Our reputations aren't the best, and we have trouble gaining sympathy. We're all afraid, but some of us are finally able to make a difference."

The others go to protest, but Jack shushes them, pulling them aside. "Listen, you're gonna see people that you don't like here. They're all my guests, you're my guests, and you can trust everyone here to not kill you. I trust half of them with my life, and the other half I know would never abandon me. Alright? Don't pick fights, you'll be fine. Save your questions for later."

"Jack," Tooth says, glancing around the corner and lowering her voice. "Who exactly is here?"

"Don't worry about it, you should see them soon enough. Most of them hate you guys, but none will attack or even indirectly provoke you. Just don't say- or sign- anything, alright?"

"We're meeting them?"

"Yea, a meeting's in about five minutes, and I got to take you with me. No offense, but I don't trust you guys to roam around here and not get yourselves in trouble."


End file.
